Installation of Kool Caps

• Installation of Gen I, Gen 1.1, and Gen II Kool caps, is very simple on all new school 20" inch Graphite Skyway Tuff Wheels, and Skyway Tuff Wheel II's.
  
• Both generations of Kool Caps are completely plug and play now. They can be installed without any modifications to the 20" inch wheels.

• Simply use pure 100% silicone adhesive. Choose whatever color you want. I prefer clear, as it can be used on just about anything else you might need it for, without worrying about color match. Available at local hardware stores everywhere.
• Silicone absorbs shock. Remains flexible. And will never come loose under any riding conditions.
  
• Shown below in clear. This was labeled as "Aquarium adhesive".  It really is what they glue together glass aquariums with. And, if you can trust that your glass aquarium won't split open, and, spill 100's of gallons of water in your house (at 8 pounds per gallon). It will certainly hold Kool Caps in place.
  
• You can also use other flexible adhesives. Such as, Silicone RTV (Room Temperature Vulcanization). However, most rubberized sealants are designed for very specific duties. Often with stuff you don't need, or want in them. If is says; "100% Pure Silicone Adhesive" on it. Use it.
  
• It does not take much. Strategically place the adhesive to prevent as much unsightly squeeze out as possible. Just gently squeeze them into the silicone. Wipe off any excess with alcohol. Align them carefully. And, let them dry overnight.
  
• And that is it. They are never coming back off. Unless you want them to. In which case, a fresh sharp razor blade. And, some time, care, and, patience, will allow you to remove them. Presumably, from a damaged wheel, to be reinstalled on another set of wheels. Frankly, I can't think of any other reasons to take them back off. To an "Old Schooler", what now lies happily hidden underneath, is like a gnarly bear trap pedal scar. It is just not something that we ever really want to think about, or look at. And, once hidden, certainly not something we want to uncover, and re-expose! Although showing a friend for something to cringe at, is plausible. What is now hidden underneath the Kool Caps, is overwhelmingly best left hidden!
  

And, Voila! Much Better!

Custom 24" inch wheel installation.

Kool Caps can sometimes be installed onto 24" wheels with satisfactory results. But not always. Kool Caps are NOT designed for installation onto 24" wheels.

There are a number of reasons for this:

• There are different types of 24" wheels. 2 examples are; H-spoke, and T-spoke versions of the wheels.
  
• There are way too many different hubs on 24" wheels. Some have a flange that protrudes. Some have wedges that protrude. Some have a taper on the spoked hub. And, a few that will actually work with some ingenuity. See incompatible images below. And, possible work around DIY solutions for some more compatible versions below.
  
• 24" wheels have 7 spokes. Cool Caps only have 5 spokes. This will leave some plastic hub spokes not covered.
• There were no 7 spoke hubs on 24" wheels in the 1980's. Therefore, creating custom 7 spoke Kool Caps to emulate wheels which really never existed in the 1980's, never quite resonated with me.
  

The best thing to do is measure the 24" wheel hubs that you have with a digital caliper. If you don't have one, your local bike shop should have one, and it will only take them a few seconds to measure them for you. Write down the numbers.

If they are both metal hubs, front, and rear. And, if they both measure 1.478" or less. Then Kool Caps for Graphite hubs will fit on. But, you have to determine if they are flat. Or, if they suffer from ridges, wedges, or tapered spokes.

If you have one metal hub in the rear, and one plastic in the front, and the rear measures 1.478" or less. And the front hub measures 1.500" or less. Then, a set of Kool Caps for Tuff II's will fit on. (The difference is about the thickness of a piece of masking tape wrapped around once, so it has to be measured with a decent caliper or micrometer)

You must assess whether there are any wedges or flanges that will prevent them from fitting on flush. You must also decide whether it will be acceptable to have some of the 7 plastic hub spokes showing.

Creativity can rule the day. You can install a custom CD/DVD underneath them to cover the factory plastic spokes. You can also install a customized old school floppy disc underneath them.

But, expectations, pre-planning, creativity, and ingenuity levels must be considered before installing them onto 24" wheels. As they were simply not designed for installation onto 24" wheels.

(Hover and click for descriptions and full sized view.)